Australia imposes sanctions on Thai army after coup

The federal government has imposed sanctions on Thailand’s army after last week’s coup in a surprise action against a close trading partner and long standing diplomatic ally.

Foreign Minister
Julie Bishop
and Defence Minister
David Johnston
announced on Saturday morning that Australia had postponed three co-­operative military activities planned for future weeks in Thailand.

They are a military operations law training course for Thai military ­officers; a reconnaissance visit for a counter improvised explosive device training exercise; and a reconnaissance visit for a counter terrorism training exercise.

In a potentially more controversial move the government will also prevent unnamed leaders of the coup from travelling to Australia.

In a statement Ms Bishop and Mr Johnston said: “The Australian government continues to have grave concerns about the actions of the military in ­Thailand. The Australian government continues to call on the military to set a pathway for a return to democracy and the rule of law as soon as possible, to refrain from arbitrary detentions, to release those detained for political ­reasons and to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms."

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Considered approach

Until Saturday the government had been raising concerns about the coup more privately through Australia’s ambassador to Thailand,
James Wise,
and the Thai Embassy in Canberra.

But the government has been ­working on a more considered approach to sanctions over the past few days as the Thai army has toughened its control and delayed return to ­civilian government.

The Australian government has ­consulted other countries in recent days and the action ­follows a US decision to cut military aid to Thailand by about one third.

The government’s action is un­expected because Australia has close trading relationship with Thailand through a free trade agreement, which has helped make Thailand Australia’s sixth biggest trading partner with two way trade of $16 billion.

Ms Bishop and Mr Johnston said on Saturday: “In line with our concerns, Australia is reducing our engagement with the Thai military and will lower the level of our interaction with the Thai military leadership."

While the two countries are not ­formal military allies, there has been a close military training relationship with Thai officers attending Australian defence colleges.